Wednesday, January 18, 2017

N.C. wineries win awards in largest American-made wine competition

Raffaldini Vineyards in Ronda won three awards including a gold for its Vermentino.

The San Francisco Chronicle recently released its 2017 Wine Competition medal award winners and several North Carolina wineries landed on this prestigious list. There was a total of 7,000 entries and below is the list of North Carolina wineries that made the list. This really goes to show that wine in the Tar Heel State is starting to gain some traction in the world of wine.

The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, or SFCWC, is considered the largest wine competition that consists solely on American-made wines, and is judged by a list of sixty experts – ranging from media, trade, education and hospitality.

Below is the list of North Carolina wineries that won:

Biltmore Estate – 2013 Bordeaux Blends ($25-$34.99) – Award: Silver
Biltmore Estate – 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon ($15-$18.99) – Award: Gold
Biltmore Limited Release – 2015 Roussane ($16.00) – Award: Gold

Jones von Drehle – 2014 Cabernet Franc (up to $24.00) – Award: Bronze
Jones von Drehle – 2015 Chardonnay ($22 - $25.99) – Award: Silver
Jones von Drehle – 2015 Petit Manseng ($26) – Award: Bronze
Jones von Drehle – 2015 Viognier (up to $24.99) – Award: Gold

Mountain Brook Vineyards – 2013 Petit Verdot ($25) – Award: Bronze
Mountain Brook Vineyards – 2015 Pinot Gris/Grigio ($20 and above) – Award: Bronze

Related StoryThe Best Wineries of North Carolina in 2016

Raffaldini – 2014 Montepulciano ($32) – Award: Bronze
Raffaldini – 2015 Vermentino ($22) – Award: Gold
Raffaldini – 2014 Sangiovese ($20 and above) – Award: Bronze

Sanctuary Vineyards – Cabernet Dominate Blends (up to $24.00) – Award: Bronze
Sanctuary Vineyards – 2015 Muscat/Albarino/Chenin Blanc ($25) – Award: Gold
Sanctuary Vineyards – Wild Pony White ($15) – Award: Bronze
Sanctuary Vineyards – The Triangle ($20) – Award: Gold

And we don't want to leave out our friends at the Williamsburg Winery in Williamsburg, Virginia, which also received some hardware of its own. The winery won awards for its Gabriel Archer Reserve (Silver); Four Barrel Cuvee (Bronze); Adagio (Silver); Chardonnay (Bronze); Viognier (Silver) and its Petit Fleur (Silver). 

We now we have another goal for 2017 – to drink all these award winning wines!